Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy of extemal application of Chinese medicine following tapping using a plum-blossom needle for allergic rhinitis.Methods:All 328 cases were randomized into an observation group of 206 cases,Chinese medicine group of 70 cases and point application group of 52 cases.Results:The differences between the observation and Chinese medicine groups (P＜0.01) and between the observation and point application group (P＜0.05) were both of statistical meaning.The cases in the observation obtained the best effect,the point application group obtained a moderate effect and the Chinese medicine group obtained the least effect.A younger age and an increased number of treatments contributed to a better effect.Conclusion:External application of Chinese medicine following tapping using a plum-blossom needle is safe and effective for allergic rhinitis.

Objective:To explore the impact of the number of pathological lymph node metastasis areas on the prognosis of patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) after radical surgery.Methods:The clinicopathologic data of 153 patients with ESCC treated by radical surgery at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the Affiliated Taixing People′s Hospital of Yangzhou University from January 2012 to December 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. Among these patients, 76 had no adjuvant therapy, and 77 received adjuvant radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy after surgery. According to the lymph node classification criteria of American Thoracic Association and the number of pathological lymph node metastasis areas, the patients were divided into non-regional lymph node metastasis group ( n=68), oligo-regional lymph node metastasis group (1-2 regional lymph node metastasis, n=54) and multi-regional lymph node metastasis group (≥3 regional lymph node metastasis, n=31). Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rate and survival comparison was performed by log-rank test. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to analyze prognostic factors, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the predictive value of the number of lymph node metastasis areas. Results:The median overall survival (OS) was 37.0 months for the 153 patients, and the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates were 97.4%, 51.0% and 30.7% respectively. In the non-regional lymph node metastasis group, the median OS was 46.0 months, and the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates were 97.1%, 58.8% and 39.7% separately. In the oligo-regional lymph node metastasis group, the median OS was 39.0 months, and the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates were 94.4%, 55.6% and 35.2% respectively. In the multi-regional lymph node metastasis group, the median OS was 26.0 months, and the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates were 98.1%, 25.8% and 3.2% separately. There was a statistically significant difference among the three groups ( χ2=18.257, P<0.001). Among the 76 patients without adjuvant treatment, the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates were 94.7%, 50.0% and 34.2% in patients with non-regional lymph node metastasis, 90.9%, 36.4% and 9.1% in patients with oligo-regional lymph node metastasis, 97.4%, 18.8% and 0 in patients with multi-regional lymph node metastasis, and there was a statistically significant difference ( χ2=8.201, P=0.017). Among the 77 patients with adjuvant therapy, the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates were 97.7%, 66.7% and 46.7% in patients with non-regional lymph node metastasis, 96.9%, 68.8% and 53.1% in patients with oligo-regional lymph node metastasis, 93.3%, 26.7% and 6.7% in patients with multi-regional lymph node metastasis, and there was a statistically significant difference ( χ2=18.083, P<0.001). Univariate analysis showed that age ( HR=1.534, 95% CI: 1.041-2.260, P=0.030), T stage ( HR=1.757, 95% CI: 1.197-2.579, P=0.004), N stage ( HR=1.548, 95% CI: 1.043-2.297, P=0.030), TNM stage ( HR=1.392, 95% CI: 1.114-2.459, P=0.015), adjuvant therapy ( HR=0.545, 95% CI: 0.370-0.803, P=0.002) and number of lymph node metastasis areas (multi-regional lymph node metastasis versus non-regional lymph node metastasis: HR=0.385, 95% CI: 0.238-0.624, P<0.001; multi-regional lymph node metastasis versus oligo-regional lymph node metastasis: HR=0.442, 95% CI: 0.269-0.726, P=0.001) were closely related to OS in patients with ESCC after operation. Multivariate analysis showed that T stage ( HR=1.699, 95% CI: 1.143-2.525, P=0.009), adjuvant therapy ( HR=0.577, 95% CI: 0.386-0.864, P=0.008) and number of lymph node metastasis areas (multi-regional lymph node metastasis versus non-regional lymph node metastasis: HR=0.553, 95% CI: 0.411-0.996, P=0.011; multi-regional lymph node metastasis versus oligo-regional lymph node metastasis: HR=0.550, 95% CI: 0.328-0.924, P=0.024) were independent prognostic factors for OS. The number of lymph node metastasis areas (AUC=0.648, 95% CI: 0.560-0.735, P=0.004) was better than the number of lymph node metastasis (AUC=0.595, 95% CI: 0.497-0.694, P=0.061) in predicting OS of patients with ESCC after radical surgery. Conclusion:The number of postoperative pathological lymph node metastasis areas in thoracic ESCC has important value in predicting survival prognosis, and adjuvant therapy can significantly improve the OS of patients with oligo-regional lymph node metastasis.

An atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (APCI-MS) method was developed for the direct analysis of triglycerides in edible oils.The edible oil sample was dissolved in acetonitrile.Under the optimal conditions such as positive ion detection,800 μL/h of sample flow rate,250℃ of vaporizer temperature and 5000 nA of corona needle current,the repeatability (RSD) of peak intensity rate of m/z 857.76 to m/z 881.76 was less than 5％.Then,different kinds of oil from different manufacturers were analyzed by the proposed method.After a principal component analysis for the analytical results,the peak intensity rate of m/z 857.76 and m/z 881.76 was selected for oil identification.The adulteration of 5％ lard in corn oil could be recognized directly using the peak intensity rate.Three characteristic triglycerides in edible oil were preliminarily identified by collision induced dissociation (CID) experiments.The method was applied to analyze the swill oil and fried oil samples,and the results showed that the swill oil contained both vegetable oil and animal fat,and the fried oil was also different with commercial vegetable oil.

Objective To investigate the clinical and neuroimaging features of Vogt-KoyanagiHarada syndrome ( VKH ).Methods Cerebrospinal fluid ( CSF ), neuroimaging examination, clinical manifestation and pharmacotherapy features were investigated in 5 patients diagnosed as VKH. ResultsAll 5 patients were diagnosed as uveitis in the early stage of disease.All patients suffered “ headache”.Meningeal irritation sign was appeared in 3 cases. The MRI enhanced scan of all 5 cases showed abnormal enhancement of meninges. CSF examination showed increased leukocyte number ((4--196) × 106/L). All patients were alleviatedwith combination therapyof high dose of steroid with cyclophosphamide.ConclusionsVKH is a systemic disease that usually involving the uvea, central nervous system, internal ear and the skin. MRI and CSF examination are valuable for diagnosis. High dose of steroid combined with cyclophosphamide is an effective therapeutic strategy.

Selective labeling of small populations of neurons of a given phenotype for conventional neuronal tracing is difficult because tracers can be taken up by all neurons at the injection site, resulting in nonspecific labeling of unrelated pathways. To overcome these problems, genetic approaches have been developed that introduce tracer proteins as transgenes under the control of cell-type-specific promoter elements for visualization of specific neuronal pathways. The aim of this study was to explore the use of tracer gene expression for neuroanatomical tracing to chart the complex interconnections of the central nervous system. Genetic tracing methods allow for expression of tracer molecules using cell-type-specific promoters to facilitate neuronal tracing. In this study, the rat tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) promoter and an adenoviral delivery system were used to express tracers specifically in dopaminergic and noradrenergic neurons. Region-specific expression of the transgenes was then analyzed. Initially, we characterized cell-type-specific expression of GFP or RFP in cultured cell lines. We then injected an adenovirus carrying the tracer transgene into several brain regions using a stereotaxic apparatus. Three days after injection, strong GFP expression was observed in the injected site of the brain. RFP and WGA were expressed in a cell-type-specific manner in the cerebellum, locus coeruleus, and ventral tegmental regions. Our results demonstrate that selective tracing of catecholaminergic neuronal circuits is possible in the rat brain using the TH promoter and adenoviral expression.
Adenoviridae ; Adrenergic Neurons ; Animals ; Brain ; Cells, Cultured ; Central Nervous System ; Cerebellum ; Gene Expression ; Lifting ; Locus Coeruleus ; Neurons ; Phenotype ; Proteins ; Rats ; Transgenes ; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase

Objective To investigate the mechanism of renal injury induced by changes in flow shear stress (FSS) during renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R).Methods 1.In vitro,HUVECs were divided into 4 groups:(1) HUVECs were loaded with 12 dyn/cm2 force for 30,45,and 90 min by using plate fluid chamber system.(2) Cells were loaded with FSS for 2 h,and then cultured for 1,3,8 and 12 h respectively;(3) HUVECs were pretreated with 0,1,2,4 and 8 mmol metformin and cultured for 24 h.(4) HUVECs in control group were cultured normally.The expression of p-AMPK/AMPK protein was detected by Western blotting in each group.2.In vivo,16 SD rats with successful establishment of IR model were randomly divided into 4 groups (n =4 in each group):(1) static cold storage (CS) group:isolated kidneys were stored for 4 h;(2) hypothermia machine perfusion (HMP) group:isolated kidneys were continuously perfused with 0 ℃ lactated Ringer's solution for 4 h;(3)metformin treatment group (Met-CS):metformin was intraperitoneally injected 3 days before surgery,and the isolated kidneys were obtained after cold preservation for 4 h;(4)rat kidneys of control group were just subjected to thermal ischemia for 30 min.The injury of renal tissue in each group was observed by TUNEL and HE staining.The expression and distribution of p-AMPK protein in renal tissues were detected by immunohistochemistry.The correlation between FSS loss and AMPK expression in kidney tissue was analyzed.Results The expression of p-AMPK in HUVECs could be up-regulated by FSS,and the expression of p-AMPK protein increased with the prolongation of time.After stopping FSS,the expression of p-AMPK protein in HUVECs gradually decreased with time (P＜0.05).Metformin could activate AMPK activity in a concentration-dependent manner (P＜0.05).The content of p-AMPK in renal tissue of HMP group was significantly higher than that of CS group (P＜0.05).The expression of p-AMPK in renal tissue of HMP group mainly distributed in the renal tubules,and few in glomerular endothelial cells and blood vessels.The apoptosis rate of renal tissue in HMP group was significantly lower than that in CS group (P＜0.05).In the HMP group,the damage of the renal tissue was mild,there was no swelling,and the renal tubules were slightly expanded.In the CS group,the renal tissue was severely damaged and the renal tubules were markedly swollen.Conclusion During the course of renal IR in rats,changes in FSS may affect renal tissue damage through the AMPK pathway.

Objective:To explore the effect of grasping force circle training based on knowledge, attitude and practice theory in lung cancer patients with peripherally inserted central catheter.Methods:From March 2020 to December 2021, a total of 90 lung cancer patients with peripherally inserted central catheter in the Second People's Hospital of Datong were selected as the research objects using the convenient sampling method, and were divided into the control group and the observation group by the random number table method, with 45 cases each. The control group adopted routine grasping force circle training, and the observation group conducted grasping force circle training based on knowledge, attitude and practice theory. The scores of knowledge, attitude and practice, self-management ability and the incidence of complications were compared between the two groups.Results:After intervention, the scores of knowledge, attitude and behavior of the two groups were higher than those before intervention, and the scores of the observation group were higher than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). After intervention, the scores of compliance of catheter maintenance, abnormal handling, confidence of catheter management, exercise of catheter, daily observation of catheter, information acquisition and daily life of catheter of the two groups were higher than those before intervention, and the scores of the observation group were higher than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). After intervention, the incidence of complications of the observation group was lower than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:Grasping force circle training based on knowledge, attitude and practice theory can improve the knowledge, attitude and practice level of lung cancer patients with peripherally inserted central catheter, improve their self-management ability, and reduce the incidence of complications.

Objective:To observe the changes of serum micro-inflammatory and nutritional status in elderly peritoneal dialysis patients after treatment with bifidobacterium triple viable bacteria, and the impact of Bifidobacterium triple viable bacteria treatment on the endpoint.Methods:Totally 180 elderly patients receiving peritoneal dialysis were divided into control group and observation group, with 90 cases in each.Both groups were treated on the basis of the routine treatment, the observation group was treated with oral Bifidobacterium triple viable bacteria for twelve months.Before treatment, 6 months and 12 months after treatment, fasting venous blood from the patients in the two groups were collected in the morning.The levels of serum micro-inflammatory indexes[tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), interleukin-6(IL-6), interleukin-8(IL-8), C-reactive protein(CRP)]were detected by ELISA.The nutritional status and dialysis adequacy indexes[nutritional status: albumin(ALB), hemoglobin(Hb), transferrin(TRF), prealbumin(PA), calcium ion, phosphorus ion; indicators of dialysis adequacy: serum creatinine(Scr), blood uric acid(BUA), blood urea nitrogen(BUN), cystatin C(Cys-c)levels]were detected by automatic blood biochemical analyzer.After 24 months of follow-up, the occurrence of endpoint events(peritonitis, abdominal pain, malnutrition, abdominal infection, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents)in the two groups was recorded.Results:After 24 months of treatment, the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8 and CRP in the two groups were lower than those before treatment, and the observation group was lower than control group[(25.7±4.0)μg/L vs.(33.6±6.0)μg/L, (2.9±0.7)ng/L vs.(4.9±1.2)ng/L, (17.0±7.2)ng/L vs.(22.8±7.9)ng/L, (4.6±0.7)mg/L vs.(6.9±1.2)mg/L]( t=10.272, 13.134, 5.040, 15.575, respectively, P<0.05 for all). After 24 months of treatment, the levels of ALB, Hb, TRF, PA and calcium ion of the two groups were higher than before treatment, and the levels of phosphorus ion were lower than before treatment, and the changes of the above indicators in observation group were more obvious than those in the control group[(45.7±5.2)g/L vs.(39.8±4.9)g/L, (72.7±8.0)g/L vs.(68.6±9.0)g/L, (4.3±1.0)g/L vs.(3.0±0.6)g/L, (321.5±29.0)mg/L vs.(297.6±25.1)mg/L, (4.9±1.3)mmol/L vs.(2.9±0.9)mmol/L, (1.3±0.9)/L vs.(1.8±0.3 mmol/L)]( t=7.737, 3.213, 9.880, 5.9 00, 11.937, 4.415, P<0.05 for all). There was no significant difference in intestinal flora between the two groups before treatment( P>0.05). After 24 months, an increase was observed in Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria in both groups, while Enterobacteria and Enterococcus in both groups were decreased, and the changes of the above indicators in the observation group were also more obvious than those in the control group[(8.4±0.9)IgCFU/g ratio(6.4±0.9)IgCFU/g, (8.8±1.3)IgCFU/g ratio(7.9±1.3)IgCFU/g, (7.1±0.9)IgCFU/g ratio(8.0±1.1)IgCFU/g, (5.4±0.7)IgCFU/g ratio(6.9±0.9)IgCFU/g]( t=14.248, 4.339, 5.825, 12.753, P<0.05 for all). There was no significant difference in dialysis adequacy index between the two groups before treatment( P>0.05 for all). After 24 months of treatment, the levels of Scr, BUA, BUN and Cys-C in both groups decreased, and those of the observation group were lower than those of the control group[(471.5±50.5)μmol/L vs.(623.3±62.6)μmol/L, (17.5±0.5)mmol/L vs.(20.6±1.8)mmol/L, (16.4 ± 3.0)mmol/L vs.(22.5±2.0)mmol/L, (1.9±0.5)mg/L vs.(3.0±0.7)mg/L]( t=17.877, 14.976, 15.842, 11.749, P<0.05 for all). The incidence of endpoint events in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group(12.2% vs.2.2%, t=6.574, P<0.05 for all). Conclusions:After the treatment of Bifidobacterium triple viable bacteria in elderly peritoneal dialysis patients, the micro-inflammatory state of the patients was reduced, the nutritional status was improved, and the incidence of endpoint events was low, and has high clinical promotion and application value.

Objective:To explore the influence of clinicopathological factors besides TNM stage, including preoperative tumor volume, length and maximum diameter, on survival prognosis of patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and to evaluate the predictive survival rate of clinicopathological variables with statistical significance by nomogram.Methods:A total of 296 patients with ESCC treated by radical resection at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Affiliated Taixing People′s Hospital of Yangzhou University from 2011 to 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. These patients were grouped for further analysis according to the optimal threshold of preoperative tumor volume, length and maximum diameter. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rate and survival comparison was performed by log-rank test. The univariate and multivariate Cox models were used to analyze the relationships between clinical variables and survival prognosis. Finally, nomogram model was established by integrating statistically significant clinicopathological parameters, and the predictive value of this model was further verified by calibration curve, concordance index (C-index) and decision curve.Results:The optimal thresholds of preoperative tumor volume were 32 cm 3 and 72 cm 3 by X-tile analysis, and among the patients whose tumor volume was <32 cm 3 ( n=94), the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 100%, 84.0% and 68.1%; in the 32-72 cm 3 group ( n=118), the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 98.3%, 42.4% and 24.6%; in the >72 cm 3 group ( n=84), the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 94.1%, 25.0 and 7.1% ( χ2=86.639, P<0.001). The optimal cutoff values of tumor length were 3.0 cm and 5.0 cm, and among the patients with tumor length <3.0 cm ( n=62), the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 99.5%, 87.1% and 69.4%; in the 3.0-5.0 cm group ( n=146), the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 98.6%, 47.9% and 30.1%; in the >5.0 cm group ( n=88), the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 94.3%, 29.6%, 13.6%, respectively ( χ2=53.607, P<0.001). The thresholds of tumor maximum diameter were 2.5 cm and 3.5 cm, and among these, the 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 99.5%, 84.3% and 74.5% in the maximum diameter <2.5 cm group ( n=51); 98.3%, 57.0% and 36.4% in the 2.5-3.5 cm group (n=121); and 96.0%, 29.0% and 13.7% in the maximum diameter >3.5 cm group ( n=124, χ2=62.109, P<0.001). In univariate analysis, the following factors were significantly associated with overall survival (OS): tumor location, differentiation grade, T stage, N stage, TNM stage, adjuvant therapy, preoperative tumor volume, length and maximum diameter (all P<0.05). Furthermore, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that differentiation grade ( HR=0.514, 95% CI: 0.366-0.723, P=0.019), TNM stage ( HR=1.757, 95% CI: 1.267-2.612, P=0.015), adjuvant therapy ( HR=0.669, 95% CI: 0.503-0.889, P=0.006), preoperative tumor volume (set <32 cm 3 as the dummy variable, 32-72 cm 3: HR=3.689, 95% CI: 2.415-5.637, P<0.001; >72 cm 3: HR=5.720, 95% CI: 3.606-9.075, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for OS. Finally, the C-index of OS by nomogram incorporated the statistically significant clinicopathological parameters was predicted to be 0.722 (95% CI: 0.687-0.757), which was significantly higher than the 7th AJCC TNM stage, the C-index 0.633 (95% CI: 0.595-0.671). In addition, the calibration curve of nomogram model was highly consistent with actual observation for the five-year OS rate, and the decision curve analysis also showed that nomogram model had higher clinical application potentials than TNM staging model in predicting survival prognosis of thoracic ESCC after surgery. Conclusion:The nomogram incorporated preoperative tumor volume is of great value in predicting survival prognosis of patients with thoracic ESCC.

Objective:To explore the impact of preoperative Naples prognostic score (NPS) on the survival prognosis of patients with thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).Methods:From December 2014 to December 2020, a total of 134 patients who underwent radical esophagectomy in Department of Thoracic Surgery, Affiliated Taixing People′s Hospital of Yangzhou University were retrospectively analyzed. The NPS was calculated by the median values of preoperative serum albumin, total cholesterol, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR), and then the enrolled patients were divided into NPS 0 group (20 cases), NPS 1 or 2 group (62 cases) and NPS 3 or 4 group (52 cases). Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival rate and survival comparison was performed by log-rank test. The univa-riate and multivariate Cox models were used to analyze the relationship between NPS and survival prognosis.Results:The 1-, 3- and 5-year progression free survival (PFS) rates were 95.0%, 70.0% and 60.0% in the NPS 0 group, 66.1%, 24.2% and 24.2% in the NPS 1 or 2 group, and 48.1%, 3.8% and 1.9% in the NPS 3 or 4 group respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( χ2=31.27, P<0.001). In the NPS 0 group, the 1-, 3- and 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 100.0%, 80.0% and 70.0% respectively. In the NPS 1 or 2 group, the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates were 96.8%, 36.7% and 32.3% respectively, while in the NPS 3 or 4 group, the 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates were 90.4%, 32.7% and 5.8% respectively, and there was a statistically significant difference ( χ2=29.70, P<0.001). Univariate analysis found that sex, T stage, N stage, TNM stage and NPS were closely related to PFS and OS of patients with thoracic ESCC (all P<0.05). Furthermore, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that T stage ( HR=1.46, 95% CI: 1.07-2.00, P=0.019), N stage ( HR=1.34, 95% CI: 1.02-1.76, P=0.037) and NPS (set NPS 0 group as the subvariable, NPS 1 or 2 group: HR=3.35, 95% CI: 1.58-7.11, P=0.002; NPS 3 or 4 group: HR=6.15, 95% CI: 2.89-13.11, P=0.001) were independent prognostic factors for PFS. Additionally, T stage ( HR=1.67, 95% CI: 1.01-2.77, P=0.046), N stage ( HR=1.44, 95% CI: 1.00-2.20, P=0.048) and NPS (set NPS 0 group as the subvariable, NPS 1 or 2 group: HR=3.10, 95% CI: 1.31-7.32, P=0.010; NPS 3 or 4 group: HR=5.09, 95% CI: 2.14-12.11, P=0.001) were independent prognostic factors for OS. Conclusion:Preoperative NPS plays an important role in predicting the survival prognosis of patients with thoracic ESCC.